Divine intervention saved Trump from assassination, supporters say at RNC watch party

When Linda Busam saw that former President Donald Trump had been shot at a rally last week, she immediately texted her friend Rebecca Colthup.

“I was looking at my phone and that came up,” said Busam, a Republican running for the Arizona Legislature. “And I’m going ‘Oh, my God.’”

Busam and Colthup, both supporters of the Republican former president, described their shock over the assassination attempt during a Republican National Convention watch party in Phoenix hosted by the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee. They said it was a “miracle” that Trump could address the RNC days after being shot.

“God is with him,” Busam said, gesturing to her black T-shirt that read “I’ve read the final chapter. God wins.”

“I was gonna wear a Trump shirt, and I said, 'You know what, this is the right one.'”

Trump himself attributed his survival to divine intervention at the convention on Thursday night. A 20-year-old Pennsylvania man opened fire at a Trump campaign rally on Saturday, killing one man and injuring two others. A bullet grazed Trump’s ear as he was turning his head to read from a chart on stage, leaving him bloodied but otherwise “fine,” his campaign said.

“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump said on stage in Milwaukee. “I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God.”

Trump recounted the shooting in his speech to formally accept the nomination of his party for a third time, describing the moment that he felt the bullet graze his ear. Although Trump heard gunshots and saw blood on his hands, he said that “in a certain way I felt very safe because I had God on my side.” It was a different version of Trump, his supporters said.

“He seemed a little bit more humble, which is fantastic. Because hey, God is working in this land and he knows it,” Colthup said.

The former president also used his speech to call for unity in the wake of the shooting and appeal to Americans on both sides of the aisle. President Joe Biden has encouraged Americans to cool down their rhetoric in recent days, and politicians from both parties denounced political violence.

"I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America,” Trump said. He also honored Corey Comperatore, the firefighter who was killed in the Pennsylvania shooting.

Later in the evening, though, Trump leaned on his typical stump speech issues. He railed against illegal immigration, inflation and transgender issues, promised to open up oil production and “drill, baby, drill,” blamed his legal troubles on Democrats and repeated false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

The former president drew applause from his supporters throughout the speech. They sang along to a performance by Kid Rock, cheered when Hulk Hogan came on stage and were particularly excited to see former first lady Melania Trump appear on stage.

When the broadcast in Phoenix was briefly interrupted by technical issues, attendees quickly began playing Trump’s speech from their smartphones.

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Biden’s campaign held a news conference in Tempe on Thursday to offer a rebuttal to the Republican convention. Speakers slammed the former president’s record on abortion, democracy and health care. They also tied Trump to Project 2025, a wide-ranging policy proposal by a conservative think tank with links to the former president.

“If Donald Trump is elected to the White House once again, our democracy is at stake,” Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo said, echoing a familiar line many Republicans have criticized as incendiary.

Trump supporter James Maidment has the opposite goal, he said after Trump finished his RNC speech.

“To get President Donald Trump back into office is the biggest thing that has to be done,” said Maidment, a 67-year-old Phoenix resident. He thinks Trump can “take this country back” and deal with foreign leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is waging war on Ukraine.

Maidment was happy to see Trump choose Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his vice presidential pick, he said, because it reflects the voters who want to see a younger, fresh face. Biden is grappling with calls from his own party to end his reelection campaign over concerns about his age.

As for calls to cool down the national political temperature ahead of November, Maidment was not optimistic they will succeed. “It’s never gonna happen,” he said.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Trump supporters embrace the moment at RNC watch party in Phoenix